Improvement in fruit-pickers



@uiten -tates gedient- @ffice Letters Patent No. 80,288, dated July 28, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN FRUIT-FIGKBBS.

ilge Stimuli rffemh tn in this rttmi stmt 2mb making mi of tlg sami.

TO'ALL WHOM IT MAY OONCERN:

Be it known that I, JonN A. KNIGHT, of Durham, in the county of Androscoggin, and Stateof Maine, have invented a new and useful Improved Fruit-Picker; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others to `make and use my invention, reference being had to the` accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-Y Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. 4

Figure 2, a detail of the ex tensihle handle.

A is a face and sideviewof' the rests in the tubes..

C is a. top view of the head, showing the teeth.

Iam aware of numerous patents ouV fruit-gather a handle or rod,` a flexible jointed'tube or conduct near the hand ofthe user. These I do not clai gatherer, combiningother elements conducing My fruit-gatherer is intended to bouse to be conducted downtohim-'through nhetixlje',`

I will now describethe component fpei-t` rovement. p

ais the head or detacher, hnvin'gf-a `1g,6,"l`and serrated or toothed edge, tigtqbreok ogf' The head is detachable at its junction` itla." rirg having two right-'angled slots, e, intovvhich pinnen the work, by which the head a canfhothibe` held'i.'p ,lwzreme` and removed at pleasure.

The pole or handle d is attached to` fie head by fitting into a socket or tube, g, audis removable therefrom.A It is a. smaller cloth tube, passigfaro'und the pole, to keep theconducting-tube in position.

j is a strap or tongue, to keepihesmaller tulgeh properly stretchedfalong thepole d.

Below 1 the conductor z' is'sparateifrom the pole, being attached by the strap c.

` h is formed ,o't' the samep'ce `of material as the conductor-.2', and is passed` around, or partly around,- the pole, to keep the conductouirposition;

At thei-b'ottom of`the;cndutor is a bag, y, to receive the fruit.

Z is l,a'ho'llew'portion o the p ole'af, to receive the sliding rod m, so that the length of the-handle is odjusb able to "different heighten' trees and the position of` the fruitonthe trees. A section of this is seen in iig. 2.A

At certain distancswithin the tube are checks or rests, p, of leather or rubber, made as seenat having. n tapering piec t` at `of the same, and a. small slit at'r. These are Aset on a rim, sfwhich rim is secured to the inner peri i the conductor. As the fruit falls into the conductor, it is received ou"these rests, and the fomof l s lbrokenl so that, as it reaches the bag at the bottom, it is not bruised,v as it would b'e ifekfed, particularly when fruit is already in the bag, for the successive gatherings to' giving-metallic heads to detach the irult from the tree, i ag or receptaclfw ,eive'the` fruit at the bottom, h e pnxpny of my in", tion `tiolginti ani improved achahle from 'the head at "istriip", ,to keep the receivingas around the same.

'as follows: g ed by the edge e drops into the conductor, striking Pigcslof the aperin'g aperture lby means`of the slot 1', it falls throu Hex; rest, mso through the conductor, and at last drops gently into thebag at the bottom.

Whewo longerneeded for use, the head a is removed, by means of the pins ot' the head and the slots on the!n ring, t handle then removed from the head, the handle collapsed, the jointed tube removed, and thus thc whole fohd into a contracted space.

Theonductor may be made of canvas,

bng in pince when the sliding rod mis within l, and thebag is not upon the restsp, when,'separating the gh, but with diminished force, o'n to the` and the head of any convenient material.

When removed,'the pole a is drznin dewn'through the small tube h, rst releasing the strap k. Dscliming previous patents., What I claim, and desi to'seeure-by Lettere Patent, s The frut-gatherer, as described', combining the removable head a, edge or teeth c, handle or pole a', jointed conductor c', attohed, as descrbd,to the po1e,s.nd having thepecularl'y-formed chucks p, as and for the purposs dsclribed. l l

' 4 JOHN A. KNIGHT. lwitwassen:

Taunus C. PINKHAM;

WILLIAM H. JOHNSON. 

